Conventional coupling mechanisms for floating docks are normally designed with a coupler restricting several degrees of freedom of motion. However, most floating docks are exposed to loads of varying magnitude in each of the six degrees-of-freedom. Accordingly, loads in individual members of conventional coupling mechanisms can be quite large, contributing to rapid deterioration in effectiveness, and sometimes outright failure, of the coupling mechanism.
In addition, loads resulting from wave action, or other loads, sometimes result in structural damage to one or more dock sections since the loads are exerted on the structural members of the dock rather than being dissipated through movement or absorbed by the coupling mechanism.
Although conventional coupling mechanisms have resolved these issues in the past to varying degrees of success, none have incorporated a combination of primary and redundant fasteners. U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,488 to Watchorn discloses a connector for joining structural components using a plurality of similarly tightened bolts. Accordingly, failure of conventional coupling mechanisms, including those of Watchorn, usually results in one or more dock sections becoming partially or completely detached from an adjacent dock section.
Thus, there is a need for connecting apparatus that provide relative movement between interconnected dock sections together with redundant connection in the event that a coupling member fails.